Jasmine Hostel, Nanjing. Quiet, relaxing.
Nanjing Massacre Museum.
FAMILY RUINED:
Never returns the son killed,
Never returns the husband buried alive,
Sorrow drowns the wife raped,
Heavens…
Main reason I came to Nanjing was to see this museum. One of the best books I’ve ever read, ‘The Rape of Nanking’ by Iris Chang. Found out in the museum yesterday that Chang committed suicide in 2004. She was working on a new book about the Bataan Death March. She was born in Princeton, NJ and the pressure of being a Chinese American and after her book, kind of representative of the victims to get the Japanese to admit guilt…she confronted the Japanese Ambassador in public…she started to feel paranoid, watched by the CIA…she thought they were trying to make her look crazy to discredit her…fell into deep depression…and killed herself. Brilliant writer, intense.
Bike,Tree,Lake
Ming Xiaoling Tomb. The first section of the avenue leading up to the mausoleum takes you along the ‘spirit path,’ lined with stone statues of lions, camels, elephants, and horses. These stone animals drive away evil spirits and guard the tomb.
Zhongsan Mountain National Park
April 2009. Nanjing, China.